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'Use Crossrail levy to extend Tube'
Ruth Bloomfield24.08.09
A London council is calling for millions of pounds of Crossrail cash to be diverted to extend the Tube network.
Mayor Boris Johnson is imposing a levy of 2p in the pound on developers across London to help pay for the £16billion project.
Wandsworth council chiefs want to use the "Crossrail tax" to fund improvements to the Northern line instead, including stations near Battersea Power Station and New Covent Garden Market on a new spur. This extension, being considered by Transport for London, would meet the Northern line at Kennington.
Leslie McDonnell, chairman of Wandsworth planning committee, said: "Crossrail will have little or no benefit for people living in this area. We are discussing with the Mayor the possibility of some sort of surcharge for developers to help pay for the extension."
Wandsworth wants a £488,000 Crossrail levy from a planned 42-storey tower at Bondway, Vauxhall, to go to the spur. But TfL said funding would not be diverted from Crossrail, which would benefit all boroughs.
Reader views (11)
Stop moaning! Crossrail is just the sort of big & bold project that London needs. All these pathetic, narrow-minded local councillors just can't see the big picture. ABOLISH THEM!!!! Cenralise the whole thing, slash council tax & sack all the fat, lazy councillors!! CROSSRAIL IS GOING TO HAPPEN SO JUST ACCEPT IT!
- Jules, Paris, France
The call is a timely and sensible one. Other London borough councils should follow this particular lead. Even the Conservative Mayor himself may deign to take note of what a London Conservative Council is now saying
- Campaign For Accountability In Public Life, London, United Kingdom
I think that the Crossrail money should be spent gold-plating the London Eye.
- Keith, King's Cross
To makes the point "The point about Crossrail is that it benefits the whole city", I can certainly see how it benefits the residents of Ealing, Westminster, Hounslow, Tower Hamlets, Greenwich, Bexley, Waltham Forest, Newham, Redbridge, Barking & Dagenham and Havering; but perhaps someone could explain how it benefits the rest of us, I'm talking about the other 23 boroughs, the vast majority of which are not in East London?
- Bob, Cheam
Yes, Roy, there are plenty of overground lines going through south London, but in most cases they aren't so convenient to use, as the stations tend to be further apart, and they rarely have stations in central London, so, for example, you have to travel to and from Victoria or Waterloo at the beginning or end of your journey, which costs time and money. Oh yes, and if you have a Freedom Card, you can't even go on the overground lines until after 9:30 a.m. Mon~Fri - unlike the Underground.
- Croyboy, Croydon
Forget Crossrail, a tax deducted from the working classes to benifit City 'Fat Cats' and a line to a useless part of SE London, but because it is near the river, has potential for property speculators.
SE London really needs a wide ranging underground line to connect into the rest of the underground network.
For example it is impossible to go by train without going into central London by using the expensive, overcrowded and often problematic SE Train Service to - SW London ( real mystery area to many SE Londoners) South to North (try returning to Catford, Eltham, Bromley or Blackheath from the 02 after a concert) North and West London are difficult ourny's often via a couple of train changes at least.
DLR is useful, but very, very limited in its SE London coverage
- Jenny, London, England
"IF it opens on time!"
It's been on or ahead of schedule all the way through, with the exception of the new trains, which are late due to supplier credit problems.
The point about Crossrail is that it benefits the whole city, and narrow minded tax obsessed Tory councils risk jeopardising hundreds of millions of pounds in investment. Boris needs to get a grip on his own party, but he won't because he's all for 'a new relationship with the boroughs' which involves a good deal of bending over. His regime is run by them, after all.
- Tom, London, UK
Croyboy: and look at a map of the overground lines and see how much they favour south London. It's because the geology of north London suited tube construction much more than that of south London.
- Roy, England
'Crossrail will have little or no benefit for people living in this (Wandsworth) area.' ... what about the Bakerloo Line extension to Camberwell? People in this area have no benefit from Crossrail either, and the proposed East London Line extension via Denmark Hill would benefit from an exchange with the Bakerloo Line for access to the west of the city. After axing the cross river tram, I think the Mayor owes this deprived part of London some more attention.
- Carsten, London
"Crossrail will have little or no benefit for people living in this area."
Exactly. The REAL "north/south divide" is between north and south London as far as transport goes. Just look at the tube map to see what I mean. Plenty of people are looking forward to the new East London Line coming down to West Croydon next year - IF it opens on time!
- Croyboy, Croydon
I think it's an absolute disgrace that they have once again past over the chance to extend the Northern Line to From Highgate through to Alexandra Palace. The line already exists and would bring much to this area of London.
- Hansel, London
